I'll lift you up, if I can
by FlameOfIllumination
Summary: Giles goes on a trip- he's looking for a book but he finds something infinitely more complicated. Back in Sunnydale, can he and the rest of the Scoobies, really shine a light into one person's darkness? A Season Three AU, starring a very different Faith.
1. Chapter One The Book and the Girl

Rupert Giles left Sunnydale with the greatest reluctance.

He knew that Buffy had much on her mind at the moment, and he couldn't help feeling that she needed him there more than she needed this translated transcript of yet another ancient text. _Well, I'm 'Book Guy'. This is what I do. _He thought ruefully as he walked the streets looking for the address. He longed wistfully for the names of his youth, for the England that nostalgia made perfect. Finally spotting his destination, an antique dealership on the south side of the city, he quickened his pace considerably and almost ran to get inside before the rain, which had been threatening all afternoon, finally fell. Inside, the store was dark and crowded- despite himself, Giles scanned the aisles. Old chairs, tables, globes, lamps and hat stands. A table crowded with Aladdin-style lamps. Not exactly where one hopes to find a book of slayer prophecy.

The proprietor looked more promising, Giles thought as he came into view, reading at his desk. An old man dressed in khaki, with a head of long white hair, and a neatly trimmed beard, he looked like a cross between Santa Claus and Indiana Jones. "Excuse me, Mr Kingsley?"

Mr Kingsley looked up from his book. "And you are?"

"Rupert Giles, we spoke on the phone?"

"Ah yes, of course. I have the text with me here. Akkadian translation." Kingsley proffered the document. Giles scanned the first page. "It's not in English." He objected.

"No, it's in Sumerian. Everything is in Sumerian, didn't you know?"

* * *

All she knew was Mother hadn't been in for days now. The little food she'd had was long gone. She sat on the floor, and waited, silently as ordered. Her vocabulary consisted of six or seven oft repeated words- that is, words that were often repeated to her. She was never allowed to speak.

"**Shh. No. Don't. Sit. Stay. Eat. Sleep."**

She wrapped her thin, white arms around her legs, and rested her head on her knees. Her long, unkempt hair provided a pillow. Soon, she was asleep.

* * *

Giles raised his eyes from the parchment, and sighed. His Sumerian was sketchy at best, and perhaps midnight in a poorly lit hotel room wasn't the best time to try decoding this book of prophecy. Still, he persisted, never knowing when this information could be useful for the Slayer.

Another hour passed, and he again halted, baffled by a sign whose meaning escaped him. Resolving to give it up for the night, he soon realised sleep wouldn't come quickly, and flicked on the television in the hope that it would lull him to sleep.

The volume was down, and he slowly turned it up.

"-was discovered this afternoon. After several attempts to talk the girl out, police were forced to forcibly remove the girl from the house, taking her to the police station where it is alleged she became violent, assaulting several police officers."

Giles sighed. _Great. Now I'll be murdered in my sleep- this squalid little place looks like the perfect habitat for the criminal element. _

"The girl, name unknown, escaped from the station, running straight through the reporters gathered outside and disappeared down this side street." The reporter gestured solemnly.

"We now show you incredible footage captured at the moment of her escape- suspect is shown here assaulting several reporters."

Giles reached for the remote, and froze, mesmerised by the footage. It showed an adolescent girl, dressed in ill-fitting and mismatched clothing, running barefoot through the crowd of reporters. Pursued by a police officer, the girl found her way blocked by a press of journalists. She threw out her arms and pushed her way through- sending three fully grown men flying through the air! The footage ended on a freeze frame, showing the girl, teeth bared, running.

Giles' pulse raced, and he grabbed for the phone, dialling. His mind raced, but he could think of no-one better suited to call, despite his distaste for this particular person.

"Hello, Angel? I need to speak with you. It's urgent."

**Some of you will not have read the story in which I first made this offer, and so I make it again here:**

**Any reviews I recieve will be reciprocated, even if I do not usually read/review whatever your particular fandom is. The more helpful/thoughtful your review, the more effort I will put in to returning the favour, however any and all reviews are appreciated. **

**I know, I should be working on the sequel to ALR, but I have been very busy, and disinclined to continue without feedback, but I promise I will, never fear:)**

**Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter Two: A Girl Named

**Silly me started a story fully aware I had three assignments that would get in the way. Now that they're out of the picture, next chapter: **

Giles waited at the airport, his rented car's windows covered in black cloth. The sun was still most definitely over the horizon, and he wondered how exactly Angel was planning on getting from the terminal to Giles' car without bursting into flames. A scowl materialised on his face as Angel appeared, and offered the answer. The vampire was wrapped up like a burn victim in a trench coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and there was an umbrella over his head. Holding the umbrella, was one Buffy Summers.

"Are you getting grumpy in your old age Giles?" Buffy inquired chirpily as Angel dived into the backseat, slamming the door behind him and Buffy slid casually into the front.

"I didn't tell her!" Angel protested the look he was being given. "She found out on her own."

"I'm nosy." Buffy grinned. Then she grew serious. "Besides, I'm the slayer, why didn't you want me to know?"

"It's complicated." Giles said as he pulled away from the curb. "I was sure your mother wouldn't have let you, and I don't know what we're dealing with here anyway- demon, vampire, or something else altogether. Angel...it would have been less complicated."

"Mum didn't want me to go." Buffy admitted. "But I told her you needed me, and she's worried about saying no to me now. Afraid I'll run away again." The slayer looked pained.

Giles nodded. "Well, I assume Angel filled you in on what I saw?"

Buffy nodded.

"Good. Now, we need to find it. Her. Whichever is appropriate here."

"Human until proven otherwise?" Angel suggested.

"You didn't see how strong she was," Giles replied, "I think demon until proven otherwise would be prudent. No human could do what she did."

Buffy made as if to say something, but stopped. Giles glanced at her in the rear-view mirror.

_No human but Buffy,_ he amended mentally.

* * *

In the hotel room, the trio read newspapers, watched news reports, listened to the radio. At last Angel stood up. "This is pointless. From you're telling me, the police couldn't stop her even if they found her. Let's just go look." He glanced out the window at the sunset. "In five minutes."

Standing in the alleyway Giles had seen on the news, Buffy ventured a question. "Was anyone hoping she'd just be like, waiting here for us? No? Just me then."

Angel closed his eyes. "I think..." he said at last, "She went down that way."

"How do you know?" Buffy asked.

"I can..smell her..." Angel admitted. Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Gross. But, helpful." She amended.

They walked for more than an hour, heading ever further away from the apartment blocks and crowds of the city. Angel became quicker and more confident as they went. "She's bleeding."

* * *

In the end, when it happened, it all happened very quickly. A certain street, a certain building, and Buffy just knew. She broke into a run. "She's in there."

Angel and Giles exchanged glances.

It was dark, and musty. The air was cold. Buffy and Giles stopped after the entrance, blind in the dark. Angel led them onwards. He sniffed loudly. Buffy grimaced.

At last they entered a connecting room, smaller, with a little more light. In the furthest corner of the room a girl lay curled into a ball. She had her hand in her mouth, and was biting softly on her knuckles. Buffy looked dismayed.

"Hello?"

The girl closed her eyes and bit harder on her hand. Her arms and legs, sticking out of her ragged clothes, were small and sticklike. She wore a dark shapeless top and raggedy jeans. Her face, mostly hidden by her hair, was dirty, and her hair tangled and greasy.

"She doesn't look like a demon to me." Said Buffy. "She's not acting like a demon. Are we sure this is the same girl?"

Giles shook his head in frustration. "She could be anyone. She looks similar, but if it's not her then we've wasted a day tracking down some runaway!"

"Hi there." Angel said awkwardly, as the trio came a little closer. "We won't hurt you."

The girl didn't react.

"Maybe she doesn't speak English?" Buffy suggested.

Giles held out his hand slowly. "Hello." He said cautiously. "Are you alright?" he crouched in front of her, Buffy at his side.

The girl spoke. "No. quiet. eat. Yes." Her eyes searched Giles'.

Giles frowned, baffled. So, she spoke English, if in a slurred sort of way that almost made him suspect deafness, but what she said made no sense. Buffy reached out and the girl flinched away, flinging her arm up in a defensive gesture. There was a tattoo on her left wrist, a word written in small yet ornate lettering, however the poor light and amount of dirt and muck on the girl made it impossible to read.

"She's shivering..." Buffy said, staring. Quickly, she shrugged off her light jacket and slowly offered it to the girl. The girl cringed away, going almost flat on her stomach on the floor, but let Buffy wrap the covering around her. She sat back up again and looked at Buffy, avoiding eye contact. Buffy stayed perfectly still, letting the girl think, and then sighed with relief as she sat up against the wall, accepting the warmth of the jacket, and of Buffy, who slipped her arm around the girl's thin shoulder, ignoring the smells of smoke, and refuse. Buffy drew her close, close enough till she could almost feel the other girl's heartbeat through the thin shapeless shirt she was wearing.

Giles and Angel stepped back to confer.

"I'm baffled, to be frank," Giles said, removing his glasses and wiping them thoroughly. "I was expecting a demon, for which the procedure is generally pretty simple- death."

Angel nodded. "She's just a girl. Not really our problem." Buffy looked at him in shock, but he wasn't looking her way.

Giles nodded reluctantly, putting his glasses back on.

"Buffy, stand her up. We'll take her to a hospital and they'll have the joy of her." He said wearily.

Buffy stood up, and tried to draw the girl up after her. She simply sat there, her face now buried in Buffy's jacket.

"Come on Buffy."

"I can't." Buffy protested, straining. "She won't get up!"

Angel went into vamp face immediately. "Back away Buffy." he snarled. "If you can't budge her, she's not human."

"No!" Buffy protested. "She's just...come on, girl. stand up."

Giles, seeing the distress of his charge, intervened also. He tried to look the wild girl in the eyes but she was cringing, staring at the floor.

"Come." He said, gesturing. She heard the word, but didn't comprehend, grasping the meaning of his signs easily enough. She hesitated again, looked at Buffy, and upon seeing her nod, stood up and took an unsteady step forward. It was only now that all three realised this girl wasn't wearing any shoes- her feet were streaked with the dirt of the streets, and bleeding from many cuts.

"We want to help you." Angel tried, slipping back into his human guise.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Are you guys getting that this girl doesn't understand English? 'Cause, I'm really not the brightest penny present and I still read her loud and clear."

Buffy held out her hand. The other girl stared for a while, looking like she was weighing her options, and hesitantly placed her thin white hand in Buffy's.

In dead silence, they led her out of the dark warehouse and into a nearby alley. Angel looked up at the night sky. "What are we doing with her again?" he asked.

Giles frowned. "Someone needs to fetch the car." He announced. Angel looked at Buffy, who was looking at the girl she was leading by the hand. "I'll go." He said neutrally.

Giles, Buffy, and their strange girl sat down on discarded milk crates to await his return, the girl again being shown with signs what was required. She sat down obediently, and stared into space.

Buffy tried not to stare, with limited success. Giles also tried not to stare, with rather more success. He compensated by polishing his glasses several dozen times in the twenty minutes they waited for Angel to return.

"Do you think she's...sick?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Giles replied. "There's a lot about this that doesn't make sense. She must be a demon of some form or another, but her strange behaviour has me baffled, to be frank. "

"Well, just cause she's a demon doesn't mean I have to slay her. Maybe she's harmless. Maybe she's...lost."

Giles looked at her sharply. "Don't Buffy." He warned.

"Don't what?"

"Don't get attached. Don't romanticise this."

"Giles! She's not a puppy, she's a person."

"And you are the Slayer. It's not your job to save all the homeless teens of the world." Angel interrupted.

Buffy and Giles jumped in shock. "how can you sneak up on us in a car?" Buffy demanded.

Angel looked inscrutable. The girl, meanwhile, bared her teeth at Angel threateningly, but seeing neither Buffy nor Giles alarmed, slowly relaxed, although she kept a suspicious eye on the vampire.

"Anyway, here's the car."

"We're going home." Giles announced, rueing the loss of his return flights to LAX, but not comfortable leaving Buffy and Angel to deal with the girl by themselves.

Angel nodded, and disappeared into the backseat, where he began to cover the windows.

"Come on." Said Buffy, gesturing to the car. The girl followed her gesture and stared at the car without a sign of recognition. She stifled a gasp as she watched Angel disappear into it, and took a stubborn step backwards, eying the street to her left mutinously.

Buffy sighed, and opened the door, sliding in, but making sure she was still visible to the girl.

"Come." She gestured firmly.

The girl glared.

Buffy waited. With another look around, the girl came closer, and eventually, after much coaxing, was persuaded to get in. She shot another poisonous look at Angel, and nearly bit straight through her bottom lip when Giles started the engine, but otherwise seemed content to rest her on the window and close her eyes, Buffy's jacket pulled tight around her slim shoulders.

* * *

In the better light, Buffy got another look at the girl's tattoo, and thought she could almost make out the letters.

"Maybe that's her name." She said out loud. The girl didn't move. Giles met her eyes in the rear-view mirror.

"Her name?" he said questioningly.

"Everyone has a name Giles. Maybe that's hers." Buffy gestured to the tattoo.

"I can't read it from here." he pointed out mildly.

Buffy nodded, and peered at the tattoo again. "It says, 'Faith'. Her name's Faith."


	3. Chapter Three: The Only Clear Thing

**Someone should have pointed out to me that no one would ever be stupid enough to drive from Boston to California...I'm not American, how do I know these things? :)**

Getting 'Faith' as they had all taken to calling her, on an airplane looked to be impossible, as she came without I.D of any sort, even without a last name. Giles had realised this problem first, and promptly pulled over into a petrol station where he spent upwards of an hour on the phone with his contacts. (Angel sulked in the car.) Buffy bought milkshakes for her and Faith.

As she handed it over, Faith again refusing to make eye contact, she wondered if the Council was paying for this trip- if it was a sort of business expense. Demon hunt turned into...rescue mission? Buffy looked at Giles and wondered exactly what he was planning for Faith, once they were all back in Sunnydale.

_I suppose, first, finding out what this girl is. If that stunt with the police was some kind of once- in -a- lifetime mother-lifts-car-off-child-stunt, or if she's really not as human as she seems. Or, sorta seems. A human who can't talk, can't seem to communicate at all._

Buffy drank her drink. She glanced at Faith and blinked, surprised. Faith was staring at her drink like it was going to bite, and, ignoring the straw poking out of the lid, attempting to suck the liquid from the sides of the cup. Buffy reached out and, ignoring Faith's immediate shift away from her and against the door, fixed the crushed straw and offered it to her again, demonstrating. Faith copied her obediently.

That was when it happened. It wasn't quite a smile, but it was more than the blank looks she'd given thus far. Faith's eyes seemed to smile.

"Look Angel. She likes it." Said Buffy.

Angel nodded. "Looks like she's never had anything like it." He commented.

Giles returned, mumbling to himself and replacing his glasses on his head. He got back into the driver's seat, making sure the radio was still off, as the noise bothered Faith, not to mention exacerbated his headache. As they headed onto the highway, Angel spoke up. "What are we doing?"

"Some old friends of mine will be assisting us." Giles explained, speeding up slightly.

"It's a coven based in Washington D.C. We'll drive there, and they'll get us the rest of way back. Fortunately, the Hellmouth has a strong magical signal."

Buffy just nodded. She caught Giles' eyes in the rear view mirror.

"I called in a lot of favours for this chance." He said in a forcedly casual manner.

Buffy smiled sunnily. "And we appreciate it very much." she said patronisingly.

"Don't we, Faith?" she continued, glancing at the girl.

Faith wasn't paying attention, too busy staring daggers at Angel.

* * *

They drove for a couple more hours. Faith fell asleep, curled against the window. Her bare feet, now bandaged and covered in bandaids, pressed against Buffy's side. It was just on sunset when they finally pulled into the driveway of a large colonial style home. Faith sprang awake at the crunch of wheels on gravel. Her dark, intelligent eyes scoped the place, taking in the figures standing on the balcony.

Giles got out of the car, followed by Buffy. Despite himself, the watcher smirked as he realised Angel was still stuck there, the last rays of the sun trapping him.

"Rupert, how lovely to see you again!" the speaker was a woman entering late middle age, her eyes were green as the double breasted jacket she was wearing. Her hair was short and dark, falling only just below her ears.

"Melinda, always a pleasure." Giles replied, shaking her hand.

"Come and meet our guests Dali!" Melinda called, gesturing to her companion. The other woman was younger, early thirties, her dark hair plaited, and falling to her shoulders. She wore a similar suit jacket in black, with a white shirt underneath.

Buffy glanced at Giles. _Are they going somewhere?_ she wondered. He caught the look and raised an eyebrow, glancing down at her strapless high heeled sandals in a way that clearly suggested (that he thought) she had no legs to stand on when it came to fashion sense.

"How rude of you not to introduce us Rupy" Melinda continued, taking Buffy's hand. "I am Melinda Breck, and this is my companion Delilah, or Dali, as she prefers to be called."

"Nice to meet you both." said Buffy awkwardly.

"And this must be Faith." said Dali, holding out her hand. Faith recoiled, and in a moment was several feet back, sitting on the car, glaring.

"Friendly girl." Dali said dryly.

Giles smiled wanly. "She doesn't exactly trust people." he explained, then the three adults watched Buffy go back to the car.

"Except Buffy."

* * *

"It's simply impossible. One at a time, with at least a 15min gap between each. That's all we can offer." Melinda repeated stubbornly.

Giles sighed. "Surely you realise Faith is unlikely to react well to being seperated from Buffy." he said, putting it mildly.

"Well she'll be permanently seperated if we send them together and one of them arrives missing a head!" Dali broke in irritably.

Angel, released from the car at last when the sun went down interjected. "Which is why my plan makes the most sense. Me first, then her, then Buffy, then Giles."

"No." Buffy insisted stubbornly. "She hates you, she'll freak if you two are left together."

"She's afraid." Angel said, not quite supressing a smile.

"Why would she be? We all saw, she's strong, whatever she is." Buffy argued.

Giles agreed. "She's not afraid of you. She simply despises you."

A pointed pause. "I can't imagine why."

- " If we leave you two alone together for 15mins, one of you will get killed."

Angel didn't really look as though he minded.

"Angel can go first. Then me, then Faith, then Giles. I'll explain it to her."

"You had to explain how to use a straw, what makes you think she'll grasp all of this?" Angel asked sardonically.

Buffy just stared at him, and wondered exactly what his problem was. _He's been hostile from the word go,_ she thought to herself, then shrugged. Melinda and Dali shrugged, not really caring one way or another about the order.

* * *

"Wait." Buffy said firmly. "Don't move. Please?" she added, with a smile. Faith just stared solemnly at her.

"Stay here. I'll be back."

With Angel having already disappeared into thin air, his passage only marked by a slight blurring of the air, Melinda and Dali were keen for someone to follow, there being only so long they could keep up the power, so to speak.

At last, Buffy stopped. "I have no idea if she's even listening." she complained.

"Time to go, Slayer." Melinda said impatiently.

"Okay, okay." she turned to Faith. "See you soon." she said, then, copying Angel before her, turned to face the two witches.

For a moment or two, everything became hazy. She could see everything moving slowly, and her hand passing in front of her face seemed to have the speed of a bullet in comparison with the slothful movements of Giles and the witches. She spun, eyes shut against the dizziness. She felt herself move, felt her legs take steps that her brain hadn't willed them too, and in the last moment, opened her eyes.

It was a blur, a mess of shapes and colours. Only one thing stood out, or one person, rather. Faith. She was clear. She moved faster than lightening, but still Buffy could follow her every move with her eyes. Then she was pulled away, and felt nothing.

**Should be some more Giles POV in the next chapter. **

**What does everyone think so far? **


	4. Chapter 4: Giles, Angel and Joyce

**Chapter Four: Giles, Angel and Joyce**

Giles breathed in an out slowly, calming himself with the techniques they taught you day one of Watcher training. Faith was already calm, fascinated with the space where Buffy disappeared, her eyes only leaving it when Giles, or one of the witches, made a movement.

Giles had expected the hard part to be convincing Faith to stand still, but she stood obediently in the chalk circle, as long as Melinda and Dali didn't stand too close to her. Giles stood in her line of sight, and tried to look calm.

The same words that had sent Buffy and Angel began.

It was all the same, except for the tension.

No matter how many times he told himself it was ridiculous, Giles couldn't escape the feeling that there was more to Faith than met the eye.

And as she was spirited away, gaze locked on the sky, muscles taut and tensed in a familiar way, he started to get an inkling of just what that 'more' could be.

...

Faith fell forward onto the ground, and started to get up before the nausea overtook her. Once she'd finished spewing up the milkshake she'd had with Buffy, she looked around. Buffy was sitting on the ground, looking equally pale. Angel alone was unaffected, they discovered fifteen minutes later when Giles too was immediately sick.

"We did fly thousands of miles in a matter of seconds," He explained as Buffy and Faith fixed him the identical, sickly looks.

"Now, the next thing is to- excuse me," Giles interrupted himself to be sick twice more before he came upright and, rather unsteadily suggested they call a cab.

Buffy looked around. "We're in the middle of a field...it looks like the grounds of the old vineyard. We came here once on an excursion. Didn't get any wine though. I think there's a groundskeeper or something living here, he probably has a phone."

The four of them set off for the lights in the distance.

The door opened very slowly, and really, Buffy could hardly blame the elderly man peering out at them for being suspicious. Angel and Faith were both extremely pale, and Faith was dirty and dressed in rags. Everyone except Angel was nauseous and the smell of vomit was in the air.

Giles put on his best smile, and responsible face, and eventually talked his way into the house, heading for the phone while Angel, Buffy and Faith waited outside.

When they finally arrived at Giles' house, Giles and the girls entered. Angel tried to follow, but stopped.

Buffy turned back to look at him. "Giles," she said, "the house won't let him in, remember?"

Giles looked at her, and then at Angel. "Yes, I remember. Thank you for your assistance Angel, I'm sure Buffy will call you in the morning should we require any further help."

"Giles!" Buffy cried, hurt at his rudeness. The Watcher looked at her. "I am fully aware of, and appreciate, that that is Angel, not Angelus. But, invite one, and you invite the other. And Jenny..." he trailed off.

Angel retreated, guilt written over his face. Buffy glanced between the two men for a long moment, and then over at Faith, watching all this low-key drama with curiosity.

"Okay Giles. Angel doesn't mind, do you?" she turned, but the vampire had already left.

"Now." Giles said loudly, startling himself, and lowering his tone, "I think we should take Faith to hospital. She needs care. But," he raised a hand to stifle Buffy's reaction, "I do not think she will take well to that, she is highly likely to have an adverse reaction to such a strange and unfamiliar environment. Therefore, I suggest involving your mother."  
Buffy looked as though she wanted to protest.

"Buffy," said Giles, tiredly and impatiently, "I don't know that we have a choice. I am reluctant to involve your mother in the slayer side of your duties, yes, but we don't even know if this falls in that category yet. We still could have picked up a simple street kid."

Joyce just watched her for a few minutes, taking care not to let her see. Faith had tensed on hearing Joyce's knock, and regarded her suspiciously for a few minutes.

"Mum," Said Buffy, placing her hand on her mother's arm. "she needs help."

Joyce nodded.

Unseen by either, Faith looked between Buffy and Joyce. Her face brightened at Buffy's first word.

"Okay," Joyce stood up and gestured to Faith, speaking firmly and clearly. "Come with me Faith. Come on." She gestured a few more times, making her meaning plain.

Slowly, Faith followed, her eyes locked on the ground. She glanced back at Buffy, who saw that the brunette was shaking. "It's alright Faith."

Buffy started to follow them, but her mother barred the way. "No Buffy. I'll take care of it. Stay, make Mr Giles a cup of tea."

...

...

...

**What did you think? Please review, it spurs me on:) **

**And No, incase you were wondering, I am not a rabid Angel hater. I quite liked him on his own show, but as Buffy's love interest? As a permanent reminder to Giles of his dead girlfriend? Not cool.**


End file.
